Bring Your Own Device in Study Programmes

DownloadMobile computers are mandatory (PDF, 22 KB)vertical_align_bottom for new students starting any study programme in the autumn semester 2024. This applies to all levels: Bachelor¡¯s degree programme, Master's degree programme, continuing education and teacher training as well as special students. Students on joint Master's degree programmes, doctoral students and exchange students are also affected if they take courses in their study programmes for the first time.

You can purchase your device from any point of sale of your choice. The external pageProjekt Neptuncall_made offers devices at special conditions for students of many Swiss schools and universities. Please take into account the recommended minimum configuration when purchasing your device.

If you are unsure whether your laptop meets the minimum requirements, please seek advice from your trusted specialist dealer or from external pageProjekt Neptuncall_made or other sales outlets.

A minimum configuration is recommended for the laptop, which will be sufficient for ten consecutive semesters. If your current device deviates downwards from the minimum requirements, this is at your own risk, and you cannot revoke to the phrase: "My laptop can't do that because ...".

A minimum configuration is recommended for the laptop, which will be sufficient for ten consecutive semesters. Of course, devices that exceed this minimum configuration are also suitable. Please also consider the weight and power consumption of the device. Both should allow you to carry the mobile device for a whole day of study without any problems.

Tablets or Chromebooks are not suitable as main devices, as many software applications do not run on them. However, you may of course use tablets or smartphones as supplements in addition to a suitable laptop.

The software you need for various courses and performance assessments is announced by the respective degree programmes or lecturers.

We recommend that you wait until you arrive at ETH before purchasing software. ETH has negotiated special conditions with various software providers. As soon as you have received your ETH login details, you can take these

first steps. Under "Software" you will see a link for setting up Microsoft 365 ) (incl. Office, Teams and other cloud services) free of charge, as well as a link for the IT-Shop.  

There, under "Product Inventory", you can obtain certain other software free of charge, depending on your study programme's requirements.
We advise you to consult the respective lecturers regarding the software required for individual courses. Please also bear in mind that there are open-source alternatives for many commercial software products: external pagehttps://thealternative.ch/call_made

According to the minimum configuration your device must have at least seven hours of battery life while using standard applications, such as word processing and web browsing. Many lecture halls, seminar rooms, laboratories or work areas do not currently have enough power sockets to supply all seats with electricity. If you are concerned about this, you may want to consider purchasing a PowerBank (mobile battery charger) suitable for your device.

Linux is a useful alternative for everyday study at ETH Zurich. Each operating system has its own range of supported software, and some lectures require either Linux or Windows-only software; a problem that can be solved either by dual-booting the two operating systems or by using a virtual machine.

Some exams at ETH require the external pageSafe Exam Browsercall_made, which cannot be used in a virtual machine and only runs on Windows and macOS. A dual boot setup is recommended for this.

All compulsory courses, exercises and performance assessments can be carried out with the minimum configuration. Your lecturer will provide you with additional capacities if necessary.

external pageProjekt Neptuncall_made offers support at special conditions. This also applies to students who have purchased their device from other suppliers. There are also various support services on the open market that you can use. For minor or common problems, search engines on the web or your fellow students may also be helpful.

The lecturers of your study programme will inform you about the extent to which your laptop is used in lectures and other courses and whether certain software is required. If you have any questions, please directly contact the lecturer of the respective course.

If your laptop is required for a performance assessment, this will be indicated in the course catalogue. Bring Your Own Device performance assessments are conducted on ETH premises under supervision. The software required for a specific performance assessment will be announced by the lecturers. All exams can be carried out with the minimum device configuration. Make absolutely sure that the battery of your laptop is fully charged before the performance assessment. If you have any further questions regarding performance assessments, please contact the respective lecturer.

Most doctoral students at ETH have an employment contract. As part of this employment, ETH will provide a mobile device.